Current Exhibitions

Cincinnati Silver: 1788–1940

June 14, 2014 to September 07, 2014

Cincinnati was not only a center for art pottery and furniture; it was also a significant hub for the production and trade of luxury silver wares. In the years prior to 1850, Cincinnati boasted the largest concentration of silversmiths, jewelers, watch and clockmakers in the Midwest. This exhibition will showcase 150 to 200 objects, ranging from elegantly wrought soup tureens to tea sets in styles that span the Neoclassical to Art Deco periods. Supplemented by a few key loans, the works are drawn primarily from the Cincinnati Art Museum’s collection of Cincinnati silver, which has quadrupled in size over the last decade. Many of these new additions, which have never been on display, will be accompanied by related account and sample books, archival photographs, portraits, and furnishings of the period.

Amy Dehan, Curator of Decorative Arts and Design, curated the exhibition and was the primary author of the accompanying 400-page, color illustrated book. This publication represents the first new scholarship on the subject since 1975.